Anonymous Student Work

“… There’s a place called Kokomo, that’s where you want to go to get away from it all…” In this song titled Kokomo by the Beach Boys, a beautiful, tropical paradise in the Caribbean is described. My Kokomo lies in Theodosia, Missouri merely an hour and a half from home. It is Bull Shoals Lake, and it’s my favorite place in the world.

To fully describe what draws me to this place in words would be an impossible task, but I sure can try. There really isn’t just one factor that attracts me, because the Lake entails so much more than one main feature. It’s composed of happy and familiar sights, sounds, smells, memories, and people. I wait in anticipation all winter for those first days of summer spent at the Lake when I really feel in my element.

The Lake is the type of place where you can kick back, enjoy yourself, and bask in the pure simplicity and beauty of laughter, good company, and nature. Daily concerns seem silly and trifle; work and school feel like tasks that could only exist in another world. When I m at the Lake, the world rights itself. I guess you could describe the feeling as being close to nirvana, at least that’s my perception.

My dad bought our cabin in 2003. It’s in this resort called Squirrel Hollow, which is made up of 5 other cabins, a pool, a game room, grounds, a dock, and house where the family that takes care of the resort lives. My dad has been friends with all of the other cabin owners for years. In fact, one of his best friends since dental school owns two of the six cabins, and his brother (who also happens to be a dentist) owns one of them. Their last name is Fox, so we made a pun that we should change the name of the resort to “Fox Hollow” since they own half the property there.

We also own two other pieces of land on Bull Shoals. My dad likes making investments, and he believes the land could come in handy someday. He also tries to preserve the world however he can, a nd his icon is Al Gore. I guess you could call him a moderate treehugger. Anyways, the first piece of land he bought consists of 8 acres and a dock, about a 45 minute car drive from our cabin and only a minute long boat ride. If you look out over the lake from our cabin, you can even see where that piece of land is. The second piece of land he just bought a couple years ago. It’s 38 acres, and it’s only a 5 or 10 minute car ride from the cabin at Squirrel Hollow. It’s a beautiful piece of land and a really good hiking spot.

Most of our time at the lake is spent at Squirrel Hollow. I normally bring 2 or more friends down with me when we go, and we spend our days tubing, skiing, swimming, eating, listening to music, and just having an all-around amazing time. The cabin is just a little over a mile from the shore, so sometimes we walk or drive down to the dock to swim or just lay out. But there’s also a pool up at the resort so during the day when we’re not out on the boat, we’re probably at the pool.

My dad bought the boat the same year he got the cabin. It’s a 23 foot runabout, with an open bow. It’s great for tubing, and although recently it’s lost some of its power, it still pulls skiers great. He used to take us out tubing during the day, but he’s been letting his girlfriend Tish’s son, Riley, drive the boat around and do some extreme tubing, just us kids. When we kids are out on the lake, the adults are either at the cabin or making their own way out on to the water to join us. We have to hold on to the tubes for dear life when Riley drives, because he is an insane driver with one goal in mind: knocking us off. And, trust me, he’s very good at it. Around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, we all tie up together in a little cove of our choosing and soak up the sun. There can be at least 3 or 4 boats in the tie-up, but sometimes we have 6 or 7 all in a row. Everyone jumps in the water and swims, especially towards the middle and end of the summer when the water is warmer, and if we get tired of swimming we go into the boats and lay out. Sausage and cheese are the main snack on the boats, and are joined by chips, dip, crackers, soda, water, and veggies. The amount of hard work we do keeping ourselves on the tubes all day is cancelled out by th e amount of food we consume afterwards.

By 5 or 6 everyone is pretty much wiped out. We all head back to the cabins, squeezing in that one last tube or ski of the day, then it’s straight to the pool. Believe me; I’ve gotten some of the worst prune-y hands down at the Lake. Talk about waterlogged.

When we’re all swimming or lounging around in the game room, my dad, Tish, and all the other adults are cooking the amazing food that is so characteristic of the lake. They work pretty hard cooking all that food, and it really shows when we eat it. I guess when we’re down at the lake, cooking becomes something like a hobby and they enjoy it because they have the time to. The lake does that to a lot of things we take advantage of, or don’t have time for normally. Burgers, barbeque, ribs, salad, potatoes, pasta, French bread, smoked vegetables, and all kinds of amazing dishes are served and devoured. I love the Lak e, and I love food.

After dinner, we’re all normally too full to do much of anything besides watch a movie or, my personal favorite, sit out on the deck and talk while taking in the view. Of course the sleepiness of a full tummy does wear off eventually, and when that happens, it’s back to the pool or the game room, where we play ping-pong and darts. Eventually, when it gets darker (we eat dinner really late, and by the time we are done the sun has been down for awhile), the crazy pyromaniac known as my father gets a bonfire started. Everyone wanders over to the fire, where our musical cabin dwellers have already started playing away on the guitars, djembes, digiri-doos, and Jew’s harps. We all make s’mores and sing along to the songs while we sit on our tree stumps around the fire.

A night at the Lake is always a late one, and always full of craziness and fun. My friends and I run around the place doing what ever we feel like at the time. At the Lake, the world is your play place. One tradition we just acquired last summer is to dance around insanely to music from our iPods, which we hook up to the DVD player, until we get extremely sweaty. Then we let out Tarzan calls and sprint out to the pool where there’s only one thing to do and only one thing we want to do: jump in. By 1 or 2 the adults are all normally passed out in bed. In the meantime, my friends and I walk around the grounds for awhile or head down to the dock to sit out under the stars. The night sky down there is unlike anything you could ever imagine seeing in the city. There are no gaps between the stars, and even if you find a gap it’s immediately filled by some star you didn’t see before. If you look hard enough, you can see satellites moving as they orbit the earth. We’ve spent our fair share of hours down there just looking at the sky.

When we head inside the cabin, we turn on a movie and bake some brownies. I’m normally the baker, and I must say I make a pretty good batch of brownies. Of course, everything tastes so much better down at the Lake. I guess that’s true for each one of=2 0your senses when you’re there; everything seems so much better and fuller.

I don’t think we’ve ever actually stayed up all night at the Lake. If we did, I think we would deserve some major props. After a day spent out in the sun, it’s pretty much a given that you’re going to be exhausted that night. There’s a certain feel that belongs to that kind of exhaustion though. It’s amazing. You go to bed knowing that you had an awesome day, and ready for another one. I’ve had some of my best sleeps at the Lake, and I always sleep in extra late there (until 11 or 12), which most teenagers probably wouldn’t consider a feat but I’m normally awake by 9 or 10 on the weekends anyways.

The Lake is my paradise. There’s this surreal feeling that comes with being there; I’m in another world, and I never want to leave. It’s exciting and peaceful, and full of people I adore. Time is well spent there. I never get bored of it, and after 6 years, it’s still my favorite place in the world.

“Everybody knows a little place like Kokomo. Now if you want to go and get away from it all, go down to Kokomo.”

ROUGH DRAFT:

My Paradise

“… There’s a place called Kokomo, that’s where you want to go to get away from it all…” In this song titled Kokomo by the Beach Boys, a beautiful, tropical paradise in the Caribbean is described. My Kokomo lies in Theodosia, Missouri merely an hour and a half from home. It is Bull Shoals Lake, and it’s my favorite place in the world.

To fully describe what draws me to this place in words would be an impossible task, but I sure can try. There really isn’t just one factor that attracts me, because the Lake entails so much more than one main feature. It’s composed of happy and familiar sights, sounds, smells, memories, and people. I wait in anticipation all winter for those first days of summer spent at the Lake when I really feel in my element.

The Lake is the type of place where you can kick back, enjoy yourself, and bask in the pure simplicity and beauty of laughter, good company, and nature. Daily concerns seem silly and trifle; work and school feel like tasks that could only exist in another world. When I m at the Lake, the world rights itself. I guess you could describe the feeling as being close to nirvana, at least that’s my perception.

My dad bought our cabin in 2003. It’s in this resort called Squirrel Hollow, which is made up of 5 other cabins, a pool, a game room, grounds, a dock, and house where the family that takes care of the resort lives. My dad has been friends with all of the other cabin owners for years. In fact, one of his best friends since dental school owns two of the six cabins, and his brother (who also happens to be a dentist) owns one of them. Their last name is Fox, so we made a pun that we should change the name of the resort to “Fox Hollow” since they own half the property there.

We also own two other pieces of land on Bull Shoals. My dad likes making investments, and he believes the land could come in handy someday. He also tries to preserve the world however he can, a nd his icon is Al Gore. I guess you could call him a moderate treehugger. Anyways, the first piece of land he bought consists of 8 acres, about a 45 minute car drive from our cabin and only a minute long boat ride. That piece of land also comes with a dock. The second piece of land he just bought a couple years ago. It’s 38 acres, and it’s only a 5 or 10 minute car ride from the cabin at Squirrel Hollow. It’s a beautiful piece of land and a really good hiking spot.

Most of our time spent at the lake is spent at Squirrel Hollow. I normally bring 2 or more friends down with me when we go, and we spend our days tubing, skiing, swimming, eating, listening to music, and just having an amazing time in general. The cabin is just a little over a mile from the shore, so sometimes we walk or drive down to the dock to swim or just lay out. But there’s also a pool up at the resort so during the day when we’re not out on the boat, we’re probably at the pool.

My dad bought the boat the same year he got the cabin. It’s a 23 foot runabout, with an open bow. It’s great for tubing, and although recently it’s lost some of its power, it still pulls skiers great. He used to take us out tubing during the day, but he’s been letting his girlfriend Tish’s son, Riley, drive the boat around and do some extreme tubing, just us kids. When Riley and the rest of us are out holding on to the tubes for dear life (Riley is an insane driver with one goal in mind: knocking us off), the adults are either at the cabin or making their own way out on to the water to join us. Around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, we all tie up together in a little cove of our choosing and soak up the sun. There can be at least 3 or 4 boats in the tie-up, but sometimes we have 6 or 7 all in a row. Everyone jumps in the water and swims, especially towards the middle and end of the summer when the water is warmer, and if we get tired of swimming we go into the boats and lay out. Sausage and cheese are the main snack on the boats, and are joined by chips, dip, crackers, soda, water, and veggies. The amount of hard work we do keeping ourselves on the tubes all day is cancelled out by the amount of food we consume.

By 5 or 6 everyone is pretty much wiped out. We all head back to the cabins, squeezing in that one last tube or ski of the day, then it’s straight to the pool. Believe me; I’ve gotten some of the worst prune-y hands down at the Lake. Talk about waterlogged.

When we’re all swimming or lounging around in the game room, my dad, Tish, and all the other adults are cooking the amazing food that is so characteristic of the lake. They work pretty hard cooking all that food, and it really shows when we eat it. I guess when we’re down at the lake, cooking becomes something like a hobby and they enjoy it because they have the time to. The lake does that to a lot of things we take advantage of, or don’t have time for normally. Burgers, barbeque, ribs, salad, potatoes, pasta, French bread, smoked vegetables, and all kinds of amazing dishes are served and devoured. I love the Lake, and I love food.

After dinner, we’re all normally too full to do much of anything besides watch a movie or, my personal favorite, sit out on the deck and talk while taking in the view. Of course the sleepiness of a full tummy does wear off eventually, and when that happens, it’s back to the pool or the game room, where we play ping pong and darts. Eventually, when it gets darker (we eat dinner really late, and by the time we are done the sun has been down for awhile), the crazy pyromaniac known as my father gets a bonfire started. Everyone wanders over to the fire, where our musical cabin dwellers have already started playing away on the guitars, djembes, digiri-doos, and Jew’s harps. We all make s’mores and sing along to the songs while we sit on our tree stumps around the fire.

A night at the Lake is always a late one, and always full of craziness and fun. My friends and I run around the place doing whatever we feel like at the time. At the Lake, the world is your play place. One tradition we just acquired last summer is to dance arou nd insanely to music from our iPods, which we hook up to the DVD player, until we get extremely sweaty. Then we let out Tarzan calls and sprint out to the pool where there’s only one thing to do and only one thing we want to do: jump in. By 1 or 2 the adults are all normally passed out in bed. In the meantime, my friends and I walk around the grounds for awhile or head down to the dock to sit out under the stars. The night sky down there is unlike anything you could ever imagine seeing in the city. There are no gaps between the stars, and even if you find a gap it’s immediately filled by some star you didn’t see before. If you look hard enough, you can see satellites moving as they orbit the earth. We’ve spent our fair share of hours down there just looking at the sky.

When we head inside the cabin, we turn on a movie and bake some brownies. I’m normally the baker, and I must say I make a pretty good batch of brownies. Of course, everything tastes so much better down at the Lake. I guess that’s true for each one of your senses when you’re there; everything seems so much better and fuller.

I don’t think we’ve ever actually stayed up all night at the Lake. If we did, I think we would deserve some major props. After a day spent out in the sun, it’s pretty much a given that you’re going to be exhausted that night. There’s a certain feel that belongs to that kind of exhaustion though. It’s amazing. You go to bed knowing that you had an awesome day, and ready for another one. I’ve had some of my best sleeps at the Lake, and I always sleep in extra late there (until 11 or 12), which most teenagers probably wouldn’t consider a feat but I’m normally awake by 9 or 10 on the weekends anyways.

The Lake is my paradise. There’s this surreal feeling that comes with being there; I’m in another world, and I never want to leave. It’s exciting and peaceful, and full of people I adore. Time is well spent there. I never get bored of it, and after 6 years, it’s still my favo rite place in the world.

“Everybody knows a little place like Kokomo. Now if you want to go and get away from it all, go down to Kokomo.”

I really enjoyed reading this. I feel like we are best friends and you let me into a super special part of your life. If there are any specific events you remember (like something super special) that would make an awesome paragraph or two and really add to your piece.

On February 3, 2009 at 7:12 pm Aziz said:

2nd to last paragraph favo rite needs to be one word

AAAAAHH!!! awesome, great descriptions, I can like picture it now, and i want to go to “Kokomo”

On February 3, 2009 at 7:42 pm the almighty megatron said:

I have hardly ever been to a lake, one time in my memory. But after reading this I feel as if I’ve always gone. I think it might have been better if you added more detail in the surroundings and nature itself but otherwise an incredably good memoir.

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